Monsoon Health Hazards

All that we hope for, after a never ending sultry spell of summer is the dashing rains. While one is totally sapped out by the exhausting heat, one still doesn’t lack the enthusiasm of welcoming the rain with open arms. For a school kid, monsoon is the splash of mud that he enjoys after school gets over whereas for a college goer it is the inexplicable joy of sipping a hot coffee and watching the rain drops create a mist on the glass panes. While an employee hates the rain interrupting his work schedule, a housewife loathes the weather for not allowing her to dry the washed clothes. These are the multiple contradictory remarks that people make about the rain. In a way, it wouldn’t be wrong to comment that the woman, who prays for the relieving rains during summer, actually hates it when she is confined to her living room during the incessant rains.

While monsoon brings with it a bundle of joy, it is also accompanied by a horde of diseases that the human body is immensely susceptible to. The ideal way of celebrating monsoon is by taking good care of our ownselves because they say, “Prevention is always better than cure.”

Monsoon poses a lot of threat in the form of innumerable water borne diseases and gastro-intestinal infections. Some of the common diseases that do the rounds are diarrhea, typhoid, jaundice, dengue, malaria, etc. Influenza is perhaps the commonest of all while gastric disturbances and high blood pressure are also encountered in this season.

So, we at P3, thought of helping our readers with a few health tips and precautions that one should follow in order to enjoy the monsoon in its full glory.

• Since most of the diseases encountered during monsoon are waterborne, one should take extra care of the water that is used, be it for drinking or any other purpose. The doctors advise us to boil water before using it, round the year and more so during this season. Contaminated water leads to several infections, especially diarrhea, which can aggravate many other diseases. It is also advised that one should drink boiled water since it helps digestion.

• Besides taking extreme care of the water we use, we should also be equally vigilant about the kind of food we consume. Eating out is a “Strict NO, NO!” The idea of having a quick snack at a roadside food stall sounds very tempting but it comes with a lot of germs. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to compromise a bit on the taste buds and actually look to have homemade food as far as possible. Eat food which is well cooked and served hot. Fried, spicy food must be avoided too.

• Fruits and vegetables should we washed carefully before cooking. Leafy vegetables are the ones which contain germs more than the other, hence special care should be taken about it. Vegetables and fruits which are cut long back and kept in the open should be avoided.

• Insects like flies are the most common carriers of germs and hence precaution should be taken in order to keep them away from causing contamination. Food should be covered at all times, vegetables and fruits should be kept away too.

• Mosquito breeds the most during this season and causes the most dangerous disease of the season in the form of malaria and dengue. Care should be taken to drive out any puddles. Phenyl or kerosene must be poured in the drainage areas to stop the breeding of mosquitoes. While malaria is the most common monsoon disease, dengue is suspected to engulf about two- fifth of the world population as per one of the latest reports released by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Besides all these infections, Cholera is a dreaded bacterial infection which has caused a lot of deaths in the past and continues to be a danger even now. Typhoid, which again is a common name during the monsoons, is caused by contaminated food and water. Typhoid if not attended at the right time can cause a lot of complications.

The epidemic which took the world by storm, H1N1 otherwise known as Swine Flu, is also reported to see a rise during the monsoons. Till mid 2009, 34,000 cases of Swine Flu were reported, resulting in 1500 odd deaths.

The high humidity which is prevalent during the monsoons runs people into risks of getting several fungal infections. Doctors advise to wear cotton clothes and loose clothes to avoid fungal infections. Hair care problems are also on the rise during this time therefore proper conditioning and shampooing is advised.

Doctors strongly believe that dealing with monsoon diseases doesn’t require efforts which would force people to go out of their way. It in fact involves a lot of common sense and the basic knowledge that we had acquired during our primary school days. Habits like washing hands, using good detergent for washing, use of antiseptic soaps, etc. is a must.

Remember in this monsoon, cleanliness is the secret of healthiness and happiness!

This article was published in the health section of P3.. Not Just Page 3.